Bears’ Trestman avoiding the Bill Callahan controversy

Published: Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 9:38 a.m. CDT

(MCT) — MOBILE, Ala. — Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman, who was the offensive coordinator for the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVIII under Bill Callahan, declined on Wednesday to get in the fray over allegations from former players that Callahan tried to “sabotage” his team by changing the game plan two days before the game.

Trestman, who is in town for the Senior Bowl, declined to comment on Brown’s comments.

Former Raiders receiver Tim Brown made the accusations recently, questioning Callahan’s relationship with Gruden when discussing the Raiders’ changeup from a mostly run-heavy game plan to a pass-heavy game plan at the last moment. Former Raiders receiver Jerry Rice supported Brown’s statements in an interview on ESPN.

Callahan, currently the offensive coordinator of the Cowboys, denied the allegations in a statement, calling them “ludicrous and defamatory.”

“I am shocked, saddened and outraged by Tim Brown’s allegations and Jerry Rice’s support of those allegations,” he said in a statement at the Senior Bowl. “I categorically and unequivocally deny the sum and substance of their allegations.”

On Wednesday, Brown tried to walk back from his allegations, telling the “Dan Patrick Show,” “I’ve never said (Callahan) sabotaged the game.”

However, the day before, on SiriusXM NFL Radio, he said, “We all called it sabotage ... because Callahan and Gruden were good friends.”

“That’s something that can never be proven,” Brown said Wednesday. “We can never go into the mind of Bill Callahan. . I should have said we could have called it sabotage. It was a question, not a statement. You cannot prove it.”

Bears cornerback Charles Tillman is one of five finalists for the Byron “Whizzer” White Award, given annually by the NFL Players Association to players who perform exemplary community service in their team’s cities and their hometowns. The other finalists are quarterback Charlie Batch of the Steelers, linebacker Chad Greenway of the Vikings, tight end Benjamin Watson of the Browns and tight end Jason Witten of the Cowboys.